Friday, January 17, 2014

This Might Be The Scariest Trail In The World.

The camera shots of this trail have traveled around the world several dozen time by now. But living in China brings a whole new perspective to this perilous adventure. There are 5 recognized "sacred" mountains in China. I'm not sure if this is one of them. Nevertheless, it's probably on a few million Chinese bucket lists. Xi'an, which is the major city near this mountain, is the oldest capital of China (about 4000 yrs old); home of the famous Terra Cotta Warriors from the tomb of the first major, uniting and fierce Emperor Chin. It wouldn't surprise me if the monks who carved out this treacherous path weren't motivated by a desire to flee from the emperor's famous wrath…and need for tons of cheap labor; what with building a massive tomb & Great Wall, and all. In the 8th, 10th, 11th & 12th photos I saw something I would have escaped my understanding before living in China.

We hope you’re not afraid of heights, because this even made our palms sweat. What you see below is a mountain in China called Mt. Hua Shan. At its base, you’ll find a gigantic set of stone stairs, called “the Heavenly Stairs.” These stairs go so high up the mountainside, it’s hard to see where they end. If that wasn’t enough, the precarious stairs lead to the world’s most dangerous trail, the Hua Shan plank path. The plank trail leads high up the Hua Shan mountain just outside the city Xi’an. No one will force you to wear safety gear, although it’s strongly encouraged. The trail itself is dangerous and stunning, but what is at the top will really shock you.

In this section of photos you may notice LOCKS attached to the chains. We saw thousands of these locks in China and Korea; usually in high places like giant towers and mountain tops. In every case they are attached and locked in place by young couples who are witnessing their love for each other & sealing their love in sacred, formidable places.

This series of photos reminded us of the many repair jobs in China. No concept of safety codes in this country. I don't think I could handle viewing a photo of the workers building this plank trail !!

So, either these people really like dangerous climbing, or they really like tea. Either way, you should probably check out the teahouse at the top of Mt. Hua Shan.